Seen out and About

[Shyheels]

It isn’t just teenagers. When I was walking around Leeds yesterday I was struck by how many people are either staring at their phones or else staring rigidly ahead, seeing nothing 

On 6/7/2024 at 10:34 AM, mlroseplant said:

Would you say that the boots were inappropriate for the situation, or just unusual?

A little of both - they were urban in style, not the equestrienne style you might expect in the country, and a kind of electric blue. But sturdy enough for the uneven ground 

[Cali]

I can be walking along a cliff path over looking the ocean. Whales and dolphin can be jumping just off shore and many of the people walking will be staring at their phone...Maybe looking up dolphins jumping. I am a rare breed and still have a flip phone. But I have 5 computers I can use to look stuff up if I need to.

Edited June 30 by Cali

[mlroseplant]

While I was in the Twin Cities, I did see a number of women wearing high heels, and I didn't go anywhere near an office. It appears that wearing heels just because has not completely dropped out of the culture.

[Shyheels]

And yesterday on a trip into London I saw virtually no heels at all - indeed almost nothing but scruffy trainers. 

[Shyheels]

I went to church yesterday in an 800 year old rural church in a fairly remote part of England - lovely old church, a congregation of twelve including the 91 year old organist, and tea and homemade fruitcake afterwards. The tiny congregation was generally older but there were some younger ones in their 40s and one of these women was in 3” heels - a bit of a surprise 

I was in very sturdy hiking boots. The challenge of walking two miles along the rough, stony towpath was enough in those! 

[mlroseplant]

I had occasion to visit my bank again yesterday. I sheepishly admit that we're headed out tomorrow to probably buy yet another motorbike (but hopefully divest ourselves of two), so I needed greater quantities of cash than I normally keep on hand. The bank lady was there again, and I guess she must be for real, because all four times in my life I've ever seen her, she's been wearing heels, and actual high heels at that. On this day, she was wearing what I would call loafer pumps with slim heels. Thicker than stiletto, but definitely not block. Given my vast experience, I would peg them at 4 1/4" high, no platform. There were a ton of people around, so I didn't say anything, once again.

[Shyheels]

She is obviously committed to wearing heels as her natural look and style.  Nice!

I hope the motorcycle shopping went well!

 

 

[mlroseplant]

We wound up buying the bike in question, which is nearly identical to the bike I had in my early to mid 20s, and which I rode through 2/3 of this country on. I think I probably had more miles on that bike than all the other bikes I've owned combined. The example we bought is basically a good solid machine, but there are a bunch of little things about it, the main one being that the brakes really suck. That's probably the reason I was able to offer substantially lower than what the guy was asking, and he went for it.

The plan is to sell the 'old' bike to my older son, and I've finally got my own old bike sold, so we'll be down to five motorbikes again. Two around town scooters, one serious road bike, one fun bike, and my big scooter. Let's see.  .  . that's four for him, and one for me. The kid doesn't even have his real motorcycle license yet. What is wrong with this picture?

[Shyheels]

Looks nice! Quite an assortment you have! 

[mlroseplant]

He does seem to have sequentially year'd Hondas: '81, '82, '83, '84. Then a '72 Suzi, and then my two bikes, which are super contemporary by comparison: '06 Kawasaki, and my '09 Yamaha scooter. We'll get rid of the '81 Honda and the '06 Kawi, which won't screw with the sequential numbers.

[Shyheels]

Your garage must be interesting! I saw a fellow live-aboard boater who travels with a motorcycle. He had his boat built to accommodate it - a storage compartment where the well deck and water tank would normally be, and a built in hydraulic lift to hoist it up so he could roll it down a gangplank and be off. It must have cost him a packet to have that, but it was clearly important to him - and life on the canals is pretty much about living life your own way 

[Bubba136]

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Your garage must be interesting! I saw a fellow live-aboard boater who travels with a motorcycle. He had his boat built to accommodate it - a storage compartment where the well deck and water tank would normally be, and a built in hydraulic lift to hoist it up so he could roll it down a gangplank and be off. It must have cost him a packet to have that, but it was clearly important to him - and life on the canals is pretty much about living life your own way 

Tell us about living life on the canal.  Do you move frequently?  The only experience I have is spending a week on a trip though Belgium’s canals with my dad when I was a boy.  We traveled by speed boat that my father borrowed from a friend, living in B&B’s along the way. A quaint experience. Still have the pictures somewhere.

[Bubba136]

On 8/25/2024 at 6:02 AM, mlroseplant said:

We wound up buying the bike in question, which is nearly identical to the bike I had in my early to mid 20s, and which I rode through 2/3 of this country on. I think I probably had more miles on that bike than all the other bikes I've owned combined. The example we bought is basically a good solid machine, but there are a bunch of little things about it, the main one being that the brakes really suck. That's probably the reason I was able to offer substantially lower than what the guy was asking, and he went for it.

The plan is to sell the 'old' bike to my older son, and I've finally got my own old bike sold, so we'll be down to five motorbikes again. Two around town scooters, one serious road bike, one fun bike, and my big scooter. Let's see.  .  . that's four for him, and one for me. The kid doesn't even have his real motorcycle license yet. What is wrong with this picture?

The lawnmower is out of place?  🤔

[Shyheels]

On 8/26/2024 at 2:00 PM, Bubba136 said:

Tell us about living life on the canal.  Do you move frequently?  The only experience I have is spending a week on a trip though Belgium’s canals with my dad when I was a boy.  We traveled by speed boat that my father borrowed from a friend, living in B&B’s along the way. A quaint experience. Still have the pictures somewhere.

I can stay pretty much for free wherever I like as long as I move every 14 days - and with 2000 miles of canals and the ability to work from my boat, as long as I have wifi, it is an incredibly free existence. Off grid, solar power, heat with coal in winter and cook with gas. Life is slow in the canal - about 3mph when you’re moving, but if you’re working a lot of locks in a day you travel about one mile for each hour you’re moving. The canals are all 18th century and working the locks can be hard work. And there is a lovely community among those of us who live on the canals, very bohemian, very diverse and interesting. 

[Cali]

Some of my relatives take a forthnight holiday on canals.

[Shyheels]

It’s a lovely escape! You travel through a lot of picturesque countryside and urban settings too. Cities feel very different when you come into them by canal. Some places you have to go through without stopping because it’s not safe, but other times it’s brilliant to moor up for a couple of weeks in a cool part of a city. A couple of months ago I was moored just outside a Doubletree Hotel that was charging £180 for canal view rooms. And I was staying there free

[mlroseplant]

I don't normally report on interactions I have with people every time, but this one may be worth noting. A couple of days ago I was at the grocery store with my son. While we were trying to find where they kept the kosher salt (or would that be koshering salt?), a lady nearly ran up to me and said, "Oh, I'm so glad I caught you! You were in here a couple of Sundays ago, and you had on the most beautiful shoes, and I wanted to compliment you, but you got away from me before I could do it."

I was going back mentally to think which shoes it could have been, and I think I may have wondered out loud as much, when my son piped up, "Well he does own a few pairs." I smiled kind of sheepishly, thanked the woman, and went on my merry way.

Actually chased me down in the store. Never had THAT happen before. No wonder I was at a loss for words.

[Bubba136]

On 9/2/2024 at 1:26 PM, Shyheels said:

I can stay pretty much for free wherever I like as long as I move every 14 days - and with 2000 miles of canals and the ability to work from my boat, as long as I have wifi, it is an incredibly free existence. Off grid, solar power, heat with coal in winter and cook with gas. Life is slow in the canal - about 3mph when you’re moving, but if you’re working a lot of locks in a day you travel about one mile for each hour you’re moving. The canals are all 18th century and working the locks can be hard work. And there is a lovely community among those of us who live on the canals, very bohemian, very diverse and interesting. 

What do you do about water, electricity, sewage, etc.  do most places that you stop have facilities connections?

[at9]

Apparently the term "kosher salt" is common in the US as a generic term for a type of coarse salt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_salt

I haven't seen the term used in the UK outside the Jewish community.

[Shyheels]

On 9/4/2024 at 1:58 PM, Bubba136 said:

What do you do about water, electricity, sewage, etc.  do most places that you stop have facilities connections?

None of the places I stop have any sort of facilities - I am what they call a water gypsy mooring up along the towpath wherever the spirit takes me. I have a continuous cruisers license, meaning I have no home mooring.  My electricity comes from solar panels on the roof, I fill up my water tank (600 litres) at water points - there are plenty of these along the network - and empty my cassette toilet at service blocks dotted around the network. I buy 13kg gas bottles for cooking and in winter buy bags of coal for heating. It’s a very offgrid lifestyle. That said, my boat is also bright, airy and very stylish 

My license allows me to stay pretty much anywhere I like along the 2000 mile network as long as I move every 14 days. (You can’t just shift back and forth - you must  actually be travelling although there’s no rush)

[Shyheels]

Found myself in an interesting conversation this morning in my hotel. I am leading a tour group at the moment and someone was talking about achilles tendon problems. A woman, one of our guests, spoke up and said, matter of factly 'Men can't do this of course, but women can wear heels to ease the strain on the tendon." To which I replied, just as matter of factly: "Men can do that." She gave a start and spluttered, "Well ... I ... I ... suppose they could ..."

I left it at that.

 

[pebblesf]

31 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Found myself in an interesting conversation this morning in my hotel. I am leading a tour group at the moment and someone was talking about achilles tendon problems. A woman, one of our guests, spoke up and said, matter of factly 'Men can't do this of course, but women can wear heels to ease the strain on the tendon." To which I replied, just as matter of factly: "Men can do that." She gave a start and spluttered, "Well ... I ... I ... suppose they could ..."

I left it at that.

 

Hoping you will wear your boots later during the tour to "show her" that men can wear great boots and enjoy the benefits as well

[Shyheels]

If I was on my own I would - indeed if I was on my own I would have been wearing them already, but I’m representing the tour company and gave to keep within bounds.

[Puffer]

13 hours ago, Shyheels said:

If I was on my own I would - indeed if I was on my own I would have been wearing them already, but I’m representing the tour company and gave to keep within bounds.

Apologies for going off-topic but I gather then that you are doing some freelance tour-guiding, but hotel=based and not directly connected with your narrowboat residence?   Sounds interesting - can you tell us more?   Also, I assume that you live alone on your narrowboat and I know from experience that working a boat single-handed can be something of a chore, especially in certain locks or flights.   How are you finding things generally?

[Shyheels]

Yes I’m in a hotel in the Lake District. I give lectures and accompany tour groups on occasion. It’s a nice supplement to writing and photography. Boat life suits me perfectly. It more challenging as a single hander, but not a dealbreaker. I’ve picked up a lot of new skills - I’ve needed to! The canals in the Pennines are the most challenging in the network especially for singlehanders. That said, I love the freedom and slow pace. 

[at9]

Two nice sightings in London yesterday. Late afternoon at a tube station near me in outer London (Zone 4) a woman wearing 3" stiletto pumps. Absolutely at ease in them, walked down the stairs without holding the handrail. Then on the train, a smartly dressed couple, perhaps about 50. She was wearing black suede boots, just on the knee rather than over. About 2" block heel. They might have been going to the theatre as they got off at Leicester Square.

[mlroseplant]

I have seen, in the past two weeks, no fewer than five women in substantial heels. Interestingly, all of them were in wedges, and all of them were wearing light, floaty, rather attractive sundresses. I think everyone, including me, is trying to get in the last wears of the summer items of clothing before we can't anymore.

[Shyheels]

I’ve noticed some of the same even in my limited sphere 

[Cali]

Because of the boards I am on, I have seen at least 10 women in 3-4 inch heels in the last week. Boots, stilettos, block heels, etc.

[Shyheels]

A travel day - trains, a plane, cities. Virtually no heels - On the trains two women in chunky heel ankle boots and at the airport a woman in leather trousers and low chunky heels.  Lots of trainers - the white tennis variety- and on The trains lots of Doc Martens, including a violet coloured pair worn by a guy. Not a hint of a stiletto anywhere